What is Real?
by konpyu-tamania
Summary: What is real? And what makes something real?...Eyes must unravel the progressing mystery before Ayumu or anyone else is hurt. AyumuXEyes ShonenAi, Spoilers for the end of the anime.
1. Silent Nights

Title: What is Real? Chapter 1: Silent Nights

Written for: Live Journal Community: 30kisses

Author/Artist: **mellonemrys**

Pairing: Narumi Ayumu and Eyes Rutherford  
Fandom: Spiral Suiri no Kizuna  
Theme: # 2: News; Letter

Words: 1,849  
Disclaimer: Spiral does not belong to me…sadly enough…but the manga is licensed!

Thanks to: **cocacat15** for beta-ing!

Notes/ Warning: This has spoilers for the very end of the anime…as well as some for the manga, but if you have only seen the anime (all of it) then you should be fine. This chapter is Eyes POV, the story takes place about eight years after the anime ends, everything else is explained, so please read and review!

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_re·al (rēl) adj. 1. Being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verifiable existence. 2. True and actual; not illusory or fictitious. 3. Genuine and authentic; not artificial or spurious. 4. Philosophy. Existing in actually and objectively._

_What is real? And what makes something real? Other than definition. To be real does it have to be tangible? Or a mutual feeling between two people who both agree that it exists? Why do we have to walk through life so blind, until it's too late to see? But when we close our eyes we can still see our mistakes, pain, and suffering. We walk alone and cold even though we are close. We scream and wonder why we are not heard. If life was simple we say. If, if what? If 'if' were real we wouldn't have stories. Now would we? Can anything in this world be understood without raising more questions though? No? Yes? The answers spiral out of control and into our destinies. The spiral will be real. But will everything else be once it is gone?_

* * *

Watching the ocean pass beneath the plane Eyes thought silently of the past seven years. Seven years without Blade Children, hunters, or worries that could bring him back to that unhappy time. He had spent the past eight years with Ayumu, focusing on his music. They had left Japan and their other more disturbing lives seven years ago to live together in London. Ayumu had decided on working as a detective for Interpol. After finishing high school in London he had quickly risen in the ranks within Interpol and was now one of the top inspectors from the London office.

He would be seeing Ayumu in a few hours when his plane landed at Heathrow Airport. Ayumu had promised to cook a traditional Japanese meal once they were both back in London to celebrate their seventh year there. The day before they had both been in Berlin, Eyes finishing his sixth European Tour and Ayumu for an investigation. Their paths seemed to cross quite a bit when they were both away but they usually only had time to go out for lunch or coffee before one of them had to be somewhere else. In Berlin they had had lunch together, but otherwise had not seen each other for almost six weeks. During these times however their distance brought them closer together. On lonely nights Ayumu would call him from some undisclosed location and tell him as much as he was allowed about his current investigation. Eyes would then tell him which pieces in his performance the audience had responded to most, where he had made mistakes and how new pieces he was working on were shaping up. When he had a piano he would play, and sometimes Ayumu would join in the duet. Even oceans couldn't separate them emotionally.

* * *

Stepping off the plane Eyes quickly made his way to the luggage claim. Avoiding eye contact with anyone he hailed a cab and gave the driver directions. The fog was thick for this time of year but it didn't bother him. He enjoyed its mysterious qualities, and the sense of not knowing what lay ahead. The cab driver let him off in front of the flat where he and Ayumu now lived. He paid the driver and looked over at the park across the street. They had picked the flat because it was so close to this park. Looking up he saw the flat's windows were still dark. He wondered where Ayumu was; perhaps he wanted to surprise him. As he walked up the building's back stairs he lined up a set of possible reasons for him to not be home yet.

When he reached the flat and opened the door however it was as he had left it. He put his things away and found Hana hiding under the bed. He put on water for tea and went down stairs to ask the neighbors if they had seen Ayumu come home yet. He thanked the old woman for watching Hana while they had been gone then asked about Ayumu, but she hadn't seen anyone but the cat. The old woman then assured him that his plane must be stalled because of all of the fog, or perhaps the plane hadn't left on time. Eyes went back upstairs and Hana greeted him by wrapping around his leg. He absently picked up the yellow and brown tabby and poured the tea. Then he sat down by the piano and checked the mail that was neatly stacked there. It was mostly fan mail and bills. A late birthday card from Kousuke and Ryoko sat on top with an invitation to an International Pianist's completion that had been seeking his skills there for the past six years. He checked his cell phone and their landline for messages but there were none. Finally he lay down and decided that the old woman was right, Heathrow was a very busy airport, and the plane was most likely stalled. It had happened to both of them before.

He fell asleep, cell phone in hand, on the couch only to be woken up a few hours later by a beeping sound from the phone. He had a text message, but not from a number he was familiar with. It wasn't signed but read, "The spiral of your destiny has begun to spin again." He stared at the message wondering whom it could be from. But the stuffy room made his head hurt and he decided to take a walk to clear his mind. It was just getting dark and the fog was thickening when he passed the stone fountain in the centre of the park. Pausing for a moment, he smiled warmly, remembering the many times he and Ayumu had come to this fountain over the years. He walked all the way to the other side of the park and came back, lamps sputtering to life in the growing darkness. Walking across the street to the flat he noticed a police car parked outside. As he got closer two officers stepped out and beckoned him over to the car.

The first man was a tall Irish inspector; the second, a round Frenchman with a thick brown mustache. "Good evening sir, I am Inspector Wood of Scotland Yard, and this is Captain Chevallier of Interpol," the taller of the two said in his Irish accent as they both flashed their respective badges. Wood glanced up at the sky and then said, "We should go up I think, the weather looks as if it is going to turn foul."

Eyes nodded and led the way up the back stairs into the dark flat. He showed them to the kitchen and had them sit at the table as he put the kettle on. He was wondering what an officer of Scotland Yard would be doing with someone from Interpol waiting at the door of the flat for him. Unless it was something about Ayumu

The Frenchman was the first to speak up. "Monsieur Rutherford, Inspector Narumi was to come back this afternoon, is that not correct?" he asked with a heavy French accent.

It was just as Eyes had expected, something _had_ happened to Ayumu. Something had gone wrong in his last assignment. The one he had been telling Eyes about the day before. "Yes, what's happened? What's happened to him?" asking a bit too hastily for the likes of the Captain.

"While he was in Berlin last night he disappeared," Wood explained, "His partner reported this morning to Interpol headquarters that he did not return from the night's assignment. And that there were no notes or messages from him anywhere," he finished after flipping through a small notebook for reference. "Did you have any contact with him yesterday? You were also in Berlin, am I right?"

"Yes, we had lunch before my last performance that night. He said he had an assignment and couldn't come though."

The Inspector made a few notes with raised eyebrows, and then looked to the Captain to continue with the questions. "Did he say anything strange? Act oddly?"

"No, everything was normal. He called and said that he was also in Berlin and that we should meet for lunch, which we did. That's all." Eyes was beginning to get annoyed with their questions. There was something they weren't telling him yet.

"Did he say anything of his assignment for Interpol to you?"

"No, and he rarely does. What do you really want to know and what are you not telling me? I would like to know."

The two officers looked at each other for a moment before Captain Chevallier reluctantly pulled out a fax. It had two photographs on it, and he pushed it across the table to Eyes. "Do you know the person in this photo?" He asked, pointing to the first photo of a man. "He was last seen with Inspector Narumi leaving from _your_ performance in Berlin last night."

Eyes looked puzzled at him, then looked at the photos. From the first green cat like eyes peered up at him from under locks of brown hair, while the fake smile mocked him, reminding him of things he had long since tried to forget. The second was of Ayumu and this man, no doubt in the same concert hall he had performed at the night before. It looked as if Ayumu was being lead, or forced away by the other man but the crowd was thick and it was difficult to see anything in the picture very clearly. "This is Kanone Hilbert," he said flatly, indicating the first photo. "We used to be friends." They had _been_ even more than that, but these two didn't need to know that.

"And Inspector Narumi?"

"They didn't exactly get along, but for a time, yes they knew each other," answering he remembered Kanone's plan to kill Ayumu. He stared at the second picture however, trying to make sense of why Ayumu and Kanone were there. The officers asked no further questions and left him silently staring at the photo with their teacups and contact information at the kitchen table. Ayumu had been with Kanone, but why. Why was he with someone who had disappeared over eight years ago after trying to kill their friends, as well as himself and sister-in-law. He had an idea now what the text message meant. Their pasts had been dug up from the deep graves they had been put in, whether they wanted them to be or not. And it would drag him and Ayumu to hell and back before destiny would be satisfied.

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_Why do those things that disappear never appear except for when they are not wanted? Things that are not needed are plentiful in the world. They always will be there to distract us form the truth. But is the truth always what is real, what is seems? Or is it just another illusion put there meant to trick us?_


	2. Sounds on the Wind

Title: What is Real? Chapter 2: Sounds on the Wind

Written for: Live Journal Community: 30kisses 

Author/Artist: **mellonemrys**

Pairing: Narumi Ayumu and Eyes Rutherford  
Fandom: Spiral Suiri no Kizuna  
Theme: # 29: The Sound of Waves

Words: 1,173  
Disclaimer: Spiral does not belong to me…sadly enough…but the manga is finally licensed!

Thanks to: **cocacat15** for beta-ing!

Notes/ Warning: This has spoilers for the very end of the anime…as well as some for the manga, but if you have only seen the anime (all of it) then you should be fine. This chapter is Ayumu POV, the story takes place about eight years after the anime ends, everything else is explained, so please read and review!

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_Sounds can be heard as different things. To one person something may be one thing, to another something worlds away. They are many flavors of sounds; sweet and sour, mild and spicy. Real sounds are special though. They sound clearer, more defined. People can't scream forever; at some point we run out of air. Then everything is silent, like the calm before the storm. But ears can lie, just like anything else. Your eyes are the worst; they can constantly lie to you. Causing more pain than was intended and sucking your breath away. You cannot always trust the truth as your eyes see it. Do not trust your eyes to tell you what is real.

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Ayumu woke up feeling sick and disoriented. The floor moved beneath him and he guessed he was on a boat somewhere. He sat up, realizing his hands were tied behind him. Peering through the dark, he could see he was in a small room with nothing but a chair in it. The pounding in his head only continued to increase as he moved about, trying to find a comfortable position to sit and think. The incidents that had occurred the night before had been a shock, but at the time it had seemed best to go with the flow, even though all his training and intuition had pointed against it.

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He had finished the investigation much more quickly than he had expected, ending up with a dead end. Since he didn't have to be back right away and he couldn't concentrate on the false lead anymore he decided to catch what was left of Eyes' performance. Maybe they could get a late dinner together afterwards. What he heard of the performance when he arrived was beautiful, and the audience agreed, giving Eyes an ecstatic send off. Right as he was about to make his way to the back stage area he was tapped on the shoulder and felt cold metal pressed against his back. He kept still, waiting to see what his assailant would do. He was merely urged forward with the crowd until they were well away from the concert hall. The unknown person stopped, chuckled lightly, and turned him around, flashing him a wild smile.

Finding the green eyes in the distant light of the street lamps he froze in recognition. The man only smiled more at the surprise written on his face. His breathing almost stopped as millions of thoughts hurtled through his mind. The rush paused momentarily as a cab pulled up beside them. Placing a large hand on his shoulder, the older man led him into the cab, grip tightening when he tensed; ready to break away. Kanone spoke quickly to the driver in German, then made a call on his cell phone to make some sort of arrangements.

Arriving at the airport soon afterward he was guided in the same fashion by his captor to a small private jet. Once they were seated across from each other Kanone regarded him with a smiling face, which revealed nothing of what had sparked this sudden appearance and kidnapping.

"I thought that you might want to see him, you'll be glad you did, it may be the last time," he said finally. "I hoped you enjoyed my little game earlier. It was difficult to work around Interpol, but I believe my little ruse left more than just you awake at night during these past few weeks." His expression still betrayed nothing as he slid his gun into its holster and produced a small wrapped bundle containing several throwing knives. "You don't look happy to see me," he said, the light playing off the sharp blades. He sighed, a slight frown appearing. "Not talking? There will be plenty of time for that I suppose…"

An attendant brought two glasses of water, handing one to each of them before handing Kanone a small package and returning to the back of the plane. Extracting a vial from the package he un-capped it and poured its full contents into Ayumu's glass. "It won't kill you, there is no need to speak of death threats quite yet," he commented casually, preoccupied with the knives for the moment. "Drink it, things will go much easier later on if you do."

Ayumu appraised the glass in his hand; he had been unable to see the vial before it had been carefully stashed away. Still clear and odorless, his mind raced with lists of what the unknown substance could have been. Looking up, the green eyes were watching, face blank, hands poised over the knives in his lap. Putting the glass to his lips and closing his eyes, he downed the liquid, hoping he retained some of the luck that had saved him from a similar test. A moment later his throat was on fire, his senses barely kissing the surface of consciousness as his vision blurred and he fell forward in pain as the dark world rushed up to him.

* * *

Now he tried only to think of how to make his next move. Hands tied behind his back in a small, dark, undoubtedly locked room made his prospects look grim. The light coming from under the door was disturbed as his numb senses picked up the sound of footsteps. A key scraped the lock and the handle turned, light pouring into the room, blinding him and worsening his headache. His captor stood there a moment, then closed the door and sat down in the chair in front of Ayumu, pulling an object from his pocket and sliding it on the floor over to where Ayumu sat. His cell phone caught the light that was coming in from under the door.

"You have a message Ayumu-kun. It seems that you've been missed."

It was difficult to see in the dark but he guessed Kanone wasn't sporting his usual concealing smile. _Good…let him stay that way…_he thought. "He'll expect something soon enough, and go to the authorities. If they haven't already come to him," he managed to say, fighting the pounding in his head.

"I know, and it will only make the game more interesting, don't you think? _Inspector Narumi…_" With this he smiled down at him knowingly. But he still wasn't going to reveal his plan or his reasons; that would take time for him to learn. He hoped he had enough time to form a plan before it was too late.

_Smiles conceal knives…conceal Kanone's knives…intentions…_Ayumu thought vaguely as the pain in his head finally brought the darkness crashing back down on him.

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_The sounds of waves can be calming, a salvation, a warning. They break the shore, sending thunder on the wind to mix with sour salt and sand. Dreams can have the same effect, pleasure and fear wrapped together in an endless dance as they are taken by the flow. When they awaken they are far from their start, yet closer to the beginning than they think._


	3. Inspection’s Prelude

Title: What is Real? Chapter 3: Inspection's Prelude

Written for: Live Journal Community: 30kisses 

Author/Artist: **mellonemrys**

Pairing: Narumi Ayumu and Eyes Rutherford  
Fandom: Spiral Suiri no Kizuna  
Theme: #1: Look over here

Words: 1,180  
Disclaimer: Spiral does not belong to me…sadly enough…but the manga is finally licensed!

Thanks to: **cocacat15** for beta-ing!

Notes/ Warning: This has spoilers for the very end of the anime…as well as some for the manga, but if you have only seen the anime (all of it) then you should be fine. This chapter is Captain Chevallier and Captain Arai's POV, the story takes place about eight years after the anime ends, everything else is explained, so please read and review! Inspector Wood, Captain Chevallier, Captain Haseo Arai and any other extra characters are of my own design.

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_When we want to find something we look where it is most expected, then work away from there. But if you were to start at the beginning and work forward you would have a better chance of finding that which is lost. Otherwise you can turn the world upside down and backward, and still find nothing._

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Captain Chevallier watched the bustle from his office window. It had been a while since one of their own had gone missing, and the place was in an uproar. What he couldn't pin down was why one of the best operatives in the organization would let himself be over taken so easily. But of course the plan had been well thought out; Interpol had been duped with the false case to begin with. 

A light flashed on his phone and a secretary re-laid that someone was waiting for him. Thanking her he opened his office door and was surprised to see the man they had questioned earlier. He let him in and motioned for him to sit down. "Well, this is a bit of a surprise, Monsieur Rutherford. I wasn't expecting you."

"I know where they are," he said, face straight and serious. Pulling out a small piece of paper from his pocket, he laid it in front of the captain. "This was sent to me about an hour ago."

Chevallier looked down at the slip of paper. 'Go to the beginning of the spiral' was scrawled hastily across the paper. Looking back up at Monsieur Rutherford, he asked, "How do you know where they went from this?" In response, Eyes also pulled out his cell phone, searching through it for a moment before showing it to him. Yet another nonsense message was on the screen, 'The spiral of your destiny has begun to spin again.' Frowning, the detective looked up; Monsieur Rutherford was silent, watching his motions.

He was about to say something when the phone rang. Picking it up, he waited for the person on the other line to introduce themselves.

"Captain Chevallier? This is Captain Haseo Arai of the Tokyo office. We have word that your operative and Mr. Hilbert left the Tokyo airport about four hours ago Tokyo time."

"Are you positive? Why the hell are they there? Have someone find them! I'll send Narumi's partner Inspector Holms, which should help."

"Yes it would, I will have my men on it as soon as possible and keep you informed, Captain."

Putting down the phone, he felt Monsieur Rutherford watching him. He wasn't sure how much he should tell him; there were rumors of the relationship between him and Inspector Narumi.

"I am going with his partner."

"What? You can't go on an Interpol mission." He laughed; this must be a joke, just because you were close to someone didn't mean you could interfere with an investigation, and this man seemed intelligent enough to know that.

"They are in Japan, and have been for a few hours at least. I know both the language and the people involved. I think it would be wise to have someone who knew Kanone speak with him since he isn't always…reasonable."

"You cannot interfere with this investigation."

"If you do not allow me to go with your men I _will_ interfere."

"Darlene! Get Inspector Holms in here now! You can go on one condition. If Holms wants you out of the way you get out."

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A few hours later, Chevallier drove home to his wife and children. He had not been able to remove the young man's fire and ice cold determination to go with his operative. He was willing to interfere with an Interpol investigation in order to help his friend. Yet it seemed more than just a friendship to him. Inspector Narumi had been working with Chevallier since the younger man had come to Interpol, but he still didn't know much about him other than that he lived with the world famous pianist Eyes Rutherford. Now there were rumors all over the papers about the two of them being together in a more intimate way and such but the papers would print anything to sell now days. Chevallier only hoped he had done the right thing by allowing Rutherford to chase after Inspector Narumi and this old _friend_ of theirs.

* * *

"Haseo, the two operatives are here from London. Would you like to see them?"

"Of coruse, show them to the study, dear."

Standing up from his reading he stretched his legs and watched his wife escort the two Londoners into the room. One was a very tall brown haired man of about forty while the other was in his late twenties with platinum hair and ice blue eyes. He wondered if either of them knew any Japanese at all but then he recognized the second man. The world famous pianist his daughter had had a crush on for years.

"Welcome Inspectors, I hope your flight was comfortable."

The tall man - Inspector Holms - looked at him in confusion as the other began to answer.

"It was very nice, thank you, Captain Arai. But I am only here as an informant and translator for you and Inspector Holms."

"Your Japanese is very good," the captain replied in English, "you are Eyes Rutherford, correct?"

"Yes, it is very nice to meet you."

He motioned for them to all sit down, then offered them tea. "So, you are acting as an informant, Rutherford-san?"

"Yes, I know both Inspector Narumi and Kanone Hilbert. I might be of some help to the case. I have also lived in Tokyo from time to time."

"It has been hours since they arrived here though, they won't be anywhere close," the inspector spoke for the first time. He had a harsh English accent and fierce hazel eyes that complimented his sharp features.

"They _will_ be in the area. Kanone has something planned. He wants me…us to find him. Otherwise Inspector Narumi would already be dead."

Haseo watched the two of them carefully. Rutherford-san was very confident in his prediction, but he could feel the hidden emotion in his hard, steady voice. It was also apparent to him that the two men in front of him had only met just before they left London, and they hadn't gotten along well on the plane.

"How would you expect Hilbert-san to contact us," Haseo looked over to Inspector Holms and added, "If he does want us to find him?"

"He will either come to us or he will call us and tell us to meet him. He isn't afraid of Interpol, or any other organization for that matter."

"Well, I have three groups in the field and people manning every police and Interpol phone. You both should get some rest; it is almost night time in London and you look tired."

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_Looking can take hours to find something that you want. But sometimes waiting will also find lost things. Time lost looking is time spent waiting to be in the right place at the right time. You must follow clues and footprints in order to find a missing person. Unless they want to be found - then there are phone messages and meetings to stay up and wait for._


End file.
